why the longer you hold on to a belief, the more of the real you disappears (daily hot! quote)

“You could have the best opportunity, relationship, or situation before you and not see it. In fact, you may (oddly) even be put off by contentment. You are only ever able to see, feel, and accept that which you deeply consider as a possibility.” -Amy Larson, amyjalapeno.com

It is incredibly easy to get stuck in a groove of thought – to hold on to it and think that because there was this single moment it served you, you should hold on to it forever.

And like most people on the T.V. show Hoarders (when their cherished possessions are removed from their homes, whether it be newspapers from 1972 to the present, a stuffed dog that was once a loyal pet, or a hundred ventriloquist dummies stacked against the wall and up to the ceiling), so we can sometimes collect thoughts and beliefs and cling to them as if to a life-raft.

When your most cherished opinions are challenged, it feels like a psychological limb is being ripped off of your physical body. There’s the pit in the stomach and the panic and then you scramble to hold on to them. And if you have used them to define who you are, you will defend them to the death, regardless their outdated usefulness and the drawn out years of pain, suffering, and limitation they will cause.

But, ironically, this the best thing that can happen.

When we suffer or are in pain, it is a good sign. It means the part of us that is not authentic is sick and is dying.

The question is, are we so identified with our thoughts and beliefs, our pain and suffering that we are willing to go with them to the grave?

How long will you allow your long-standing conclusions to define you, to dictate your behavior, to choose for you as you surrender your will, your mind, your life to ego and separation, to delusion?

Will you break free at the end, just as you psychologically go under, or will you actively challenge these limiting convictions and perpetually, courageously put yourself in uncomfortable situations to free them, to free you?